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Native Plant Propagation Guidelines:
grasses & sedges

Elymus glaucus (blue wildrye)

Category: 
grasses and sedges

blue wildrye (Dave Polster)

Perennial, bluish, tufted grass from fibrous roots or short rhizomes; stems 30-180 cm tall, erect or slightly decumbent at the base, the nodes exposed and often covered with dense short hairs. Leaves: Sheaths smooth to rough, white-hairy close to the base, often purplish at the stem base; blades 4-13 mm wide, lax, flat or slightly in-rolled, bluish-green, rough on the nerves, sometimes hairy, ear-shaped lobes present at the leaf-bases, up to 2.5 mm long, often purple; ligules up to 1 mm long, entire or ragged. Flowers: Inflorescence spikelike, 5-21 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, erect to slightly nodding, rarely pendent, (one) two to three spikelets per node; spikelets 8-25 mm long, purplish, with bases often overlapping, with two to four (six) fertile florets; glumes 9-14 mm long, unawned or awned, the awns 1-5 mm long; lemmas 9-14 mm long, smooth to short hairy at least on the nerves, the awns 1-25 mm long, straight to slightly curving; anthers 1.5-3.5 mm long (Douglas et al., 2001). Notes: Lemmas awnless or awned, the awns less than 5 mm long = ssp. virescens (Piper) Gould. Lemmas awned, the awns greater than 5 mm = ssp. glaucus. Photo by Dave Polster.

Scientific Name: 

Elymus glaucus Buckl. (E. glaucus var. breviaristatus Davy = ssp. glaucus; E. virescens Piper =ssp. virescens)

Family: 
Poaceae
English Name: 
blue wildrye

Geographical Range and Habitat Requirements

Ecological Setting: 

Dry slopes, meadows and open forests in the lowland and montane to subalpine zones (Douglas et al., 2001). Prairies, open woods, thickets, and moist or dry hillsides (Rose et. al.. 1998). Frequent in broad-leaved forests on water receiving sites (Klinka et al., 1989).

Soil Texture: 

Moder and Mull humus forms (Klinka et al., 1989).

Nutrients: 

Nitrogen-rich soils (Klinka et al., 1989).

Soil Reaction and Salinity: 

Mildly acidic to mildly alkaline.

Moisture Regime: 

Moderately dry to moderately moist soils (Klinka et al., 1989).

Shade Tolerance: 

Shade-tolerant/intolerant (Klinka et al., 1989).

Successional Status: 

Climax on in broad-leafed forests on water-receiving sites (Klinka et al., 1989).

BEC Zone and GOE Community Status: 

Major component of Oak-Elymus glaucus community.

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: 

Pioneer species, recommended for erosion control on steep, eroded slopes, roadsides or fire damaged sites (Darris et al., 1996).

Wildlife: 

Fair to good forage for big game and livestock early in the growing season (Darris et al., 1996).

Landscaping: 

Meadow component. Wonderful tall, clump forming species that will spread (S. Bastin, personal communication).

First Nations: 

None known.

Other Uses: 
n/a

Seed Propagation

Flowering Time: 
n/a
Fruit Ripening Time: 
n/a
Seed Collection Time: 

August - September

Crop Intervals: 

Annual

Number of Seeds per Kilogram: 

198,410 - 262,345 (Darris et al., 1996)

Seed Viability: 

Up to 5 years (Link, 1993)

Fruit and Seed Collection and Extraction: 

Harvest by hand and clean by gently de-awning with a brush machine or air screen machine (Link, 1993).

Seed Storage: 

Store up to 5 years at low humidity and low temperatures (Link, 1993).

Fruit/Seed Dormancy and Treatment: 

No pre-treatment. Sow directly in fall to depth of 0.6-1 cm at a density of 100-160 seeds per square metre (Rose et al., 1998) and cover with sawdust mulch. Spring sow from March through early May. Seedbed should be moist, fine-textured, very firm, and weed free. Germination is rapid, usually within six to ten days. A nitrogen starter fertilizer recommended and complete fertilizer when seedlings are well established (Darris et al., 1996).

Vegetative Propagation

Plants can be propagated by division of plants (Greenlee, 1992).

Outplanting Characteristics and Requirements

n/a

Seed and Cutting Propagation Techniques

n/a

Additional Information and Photos

For more information and pictures, visit the E-Flora BC website at www.eflora.bc.ca.

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